Manufactured Housing for First-Time Home buyers Can Play an Important Role in Advancing the Housing Industry
(Source: Excerpts from online report by National Mortgage Professional)
To increase the number of available manufactured homes and bring more off-site built inventory to the market, we need to change the current perception of this type of home.
One option that would benefit first-time homebuyers in many markets is manufactured housing, which can play an ever-increasing important role in advancing the housing industry.
Manufactured homes are the only source of housing that do not receive any form of government subsidy and currently account for only about 10% of all available housing units nationwide.
Despite their relatively affordable price, manufactured homes have historically played a small role when it comes to affordable housing. To increase the number of available manufactured homes and bring more factory-built homes to the market, we need to change the current perception of this type of home.
Several manufacturers offer off-site built homes that are indistinguishable from site-built homes. These attractive properties look like common single-family homes, not the rectangular trailer or “mobile homes” that we’ve seen in the past.
The potential to garner a more substantial percentage of manufactured home ownership, especially for first-time home buyers, is for the industry to overcome the perception that today’s modern manufactured homes are the same as “mobile homes.”
What’s In A Name?
The new generation of manufactured homes is a breakthrough, totally opposite from the “mobile homes” of yesteryear, offering comparable sizes and square footage to a site-built home. Buyers can choose from open floor plans and a wide range of designs and styles. Custom amenities include upgraded kitchens and bathrooms, high-quality flooring, energy-efficient appliances, attached garages, and architectural features such as pitched roofs and porches. Buyers can select options based on their preferences and needs, adding a level of flexibility they might not have with an existing site-buil home in a planned development.
Manufactured homes are cost-effective and efficient. Today’s off-site built homes are made with the same high-quality material used in site-built construction. They are constructed in a quality-controlled factory environment and, therefore, are not impacted by poor weather conditions, as site-built often are. The use of robotics helps speed up the building process without sacrificing quality. With far less time and labor required, these homes cost roughly 30-40% less to build. The waste from construction for manufactured homes can be less than half the waste of a site-built home.
Several manufactured home builders offer homes that are indistinguishable from site-built homes. These attractive properties look like more common single-family homes, not the rectangular trailer or “mobile homes” that we’ve seen in the past.
